Missed mass today - this was different

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rotlex

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So I normally get bothered by really scrupulous people and posts like this, but I can’t help but mention it and ask opinions. (Please be kind either way).

Headed for my normal 8am mass today and upon arrival, noticed our priest wasn’t standing near the entry as normal. Went in, sat down, went through the usual prayer, and noticed it was now 8am. Ah well, running a little late. Around 8:10 our deacon came out and announced our pastor was away for the weekend, and the fill in priest that was supposed to be there had not arrived yet. I chuckled along with a number of the other parishioners, and just sat for a bit more. I was a bit worried as I had to leave for work as soon as I could, but still had a bit of time. (I don’t normally work on Sunday’s, but I work IT and we had a major upgrade planned for around 9:30am start time).

Anyway, the priest still hadn’t arrived by 8:20 or so, and the deacon came out and announced he had no idea where he was, or what the issue was. I left, headed for the office, and that was it.

I guess my concern is I probably COULD have phoned the office and said I would be late and attend the 9:30 mass, or go to a church down the road and see if I could catch their 9am. The issue with that is I already missed getting to work for the early prep stating I would be attending mass before coming in.

So am I being overly concerned here? Scrupulous? Silly? Deep down I think I gave a pretty good effort on attending, but I still fee horrible missing mass.
 
It sounds like you did the best you could under the circumstances. No one plans for a substitute priest not showing up for Sunday Mass.

I remember one three-day weekend when I was visiting another town. I checked on masstimes.org to see when I could go to Mass and planned on Sunday evening. I got to the church only to find the doors locked and people milling around. Apparently since it was a long weekend they simply canceled the evening Mass. There’s not too much you can do in a situation like that except to know that you made a sincere effort.
 
Kind of a unique situation. Was there a 4pm or 5pm mass you could have made?
 
sounds like you had every right to abandon ship

try again next week

maybe your parish priest can either “show up” or find a reliable replacement

you did nothing wrong, imo…
 
I think the Lord knows, not only did you not simply “blow off” mass, but you made your usual honest effort to attend. I wouldn’t get bent out of shape.

One suggestion though. Look around your diocese and see if there is a Sunday evening Mass you can attend. We have one a town away and it is always the back up if something untoward occurs.
Shalom
 
OP said he had to go to work

his parish let him down

it is not on OP to drive around the county looking for an evening Mass
 
brian_custer said:
it is not on OP to drive around the county looking for an evening Mass
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You know, if your idea of attending mass is simply checking off a obligation fulfilled in an attendance book that really only exists in your mind, then I agree with your sentiment.

OTOH, if attending Mass is a joy to be in God’s presence and to listen to his word, celebrate a common understanding with others, and receive Christ as perfectly and personally as one can; if it something more than an obligation, then knowing where there is a mass that might be available will provide the ability to share the joy of attending mass even when things get a little upside down.

Desire, or obligation. The way the OP sees it makes all the difference,.

Shalom
 
rotlex said:
our pastor was away for the weekend, and the fill in priest that was supposed to be there had not arrived
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My concern is the two awol priests. Never heard of that scenario happening. Our priest always gives us advance notice and tells us who the substitute will be. No surprises. What a good shepherd does.
 
You got out of bed, got dressed and left the house with every intention of going to mass. This situation was completely outside of your control so don’t worry.
 
I wish there were, but unfortunately, there is not a parish within a reasonable driving distance from our home that offers late day Sunday mass.
 
Thanks for the responses all. Like I said, I usually don’t worry too much in a situation like this, but I felt an extremely disturbing sense of worry after this incident.

To those who mentioned my priest not showing up. He usually mentions in advance if we will be having a visiting priest fill in for him on any given weekend. The fact our deacon came out and said he had a planned mini vacation and the visiting priest didn’t show, makes me worry something bad happened emergency\medical wise to our priest.

I’ll be saying a few prayers for him this week in hopes that he is OK and it really was just a miscommunication between him and the other priest for this weekend.

Thanks again.
 
I think at that point, you had done the usual and a little more to get to Mass. I think I would pray and explain all of this to God (like he doesn’t already know), say you are discontented and feel the lack of the Mass you never got to attend, but having given it your best try, you were afraid of the fallout of being late for work. I think a sincere apology for not being there would suffice in this instance.
 
Casilda said:
No surprises. What a good shepherd does
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OP mentioned there’s a decent chance at it being a medical emergency. (Perhaps we can say a prayer.)

As for the substituye priest, sometimes things get jumbled up when you change the schedule. I recall a daily Mass where there was a little confusion over which priest was saying it. (Hence the correct priest was ~10 minutes late even though he was in the same building and the sacristan had to swap out the chalice because she’d gotten a different chalice out.) So I could see confusion being a factor if there was a medical emergency.
 
Obviously you had not planned any of this to happen so I wouldn’t be distressed.

My husband also works in IT as well, so I know how those upgrades are.
 
Things happen. Priests have medical emergencies, cars break down, they can find out they were double booked, holiday weekends can be the very worst time to find a sub. This is not a “bad shepherd”, it is life happens. Offer it up and pray for more vocations.
 
If I understand my catechesis correctly, intention is very important. Your INTENTION was to go to Mass. Your CIRCUMSTANCES prevented your intention from coming to fruition.

An example, my son has a slew of genetic illness, as well as the ASD/ADHD/anxeity trifecta, so my husband and I often find ourselves in the “One stays one goes”. If we know about the issue before Sunday morning, we can do opposite Masses. If we don’t know until later, well then, one of us goes and one of us stays. I don’t confess it (at the advice of several confessors) because my intention was good, my circumstances were crummy.

Hope this helps
 
This wasn’t your fault. You planned to attend a Mass, were on time, and then Mass didn’t happen for reasons beyond your control. Your work schedule would make it difficult to attend another Mass. So you’re off the hook. Relax.

If you wish to attend a “make-up Mass”, like a make-up class in school, just pick another Mass during the week and attend that one…but you are not obligated to do so. It is just an option if you think it might make you feel better.
 
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rotlex said:
So I normally get bothered by really scrupulous people and posts like this, but I can’t help but mention it and ask opinions. (Please be kind either way).

Headed for my normal 8am mass today and upon arrival, noticed our priest wasn’t standing near the entry as normal. Went in, sat down, went through the usual prayer, and noticed it was now 8am. Ah well, running a little late. Around 8:10 our deacon came out and announced our pastor was away for the weekend, and the fill in priest that was supposed to be there had not arrived yet. I chuckled along with a number of the other parishioners, and just sat for a bit more. I was a bit worried as I had to leave for work as soon as I could, but still had a bit of time. (I don’t normally work on Sunday’s, but I work IT and we had a major upgrade planned for around 9:30am start time).

Anyway, the priest still hadn’t arrived by 8:20 or so, and the deacon came out and announced he had no idea where he was, or what the issue was. I left, headed for the office, and that was it.

I guess my concern is I probably COULD have phoned the office and said I would be late and attend the 9:30 mass, or go to a church down the road and see if I could catch their 9am. The issue with that is I already missed getting to work for the early prep stating I would be attending mass before coming in.

So am I being overly concerned here? Scrupulous? Silly? Deep down I think I gave a pretty good effort on attending, but I still fee horrible missing mass.
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Daily mass going is a wonderful possibility in most parishes. I attend daily mass. While It’s not required It’s a blessed choice our Lord’s Church gives us. If something goes haywire, Jesus knows what I planned AND tried to do even though it might not have happened.

DON’T WORRY. Jesus knows and honors what you not only intended to do but tried to do as well.
 
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